ShiftNote Blog

Here is the deal - often restaurants blame problems they are having on slow sales without looking at the reason for slow sales. Some restaurant owners even resolve themselves to believing that their restaurant just has an ongoing sales problem. But slow sales are

Sales forecasts are an essential part of an restaurant’s analysis of success and cost management. There are many theories out there about the best way to manage the sales forecast, but the one ShiftNote believes in is Pareto’s Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. The rule is everywhere in a restaurant

There are several things that will make or break the customer experience. From menu selection to wait staff performance, there are a multitude of factors that will play into whether a customer decides to become a patron of your establishment. While it is impossible to make everyone happy all the

In today's restaurant operations, time is money. The best tools can save you both. Consider this the ultimate list of restaurant “hacks” – time-saving and cost-cutting resources that can bring a new level of efficiency to your operation.

While the stores are slammed over the holidays, sometimes restaurants have a harder time drawing guests. ABC News reports 40% of a store’s annual revenue may come during the holiday shopping season, but restaurants might slowdown due to dining at home. While not every restaurant will

There is a number of ways how to increase restaurant sales, yet the profit-generating strategy many restaurant owners or leaders overlook is training. Everything comes down to teaching your staff how to succeed in your restaurant with excellent customer service, product knowledge, selling

Unlike other holidays throughout the year, Thanksgiving is all about the food. Each person has their own idea of Thanksgiving menu staples that must be included on their plate every year. From stuffing to cranberry sauce, without certain dishes it would simply not "feel" like Thanksgiving! Even if

Veteran's Day is November 11th, a holiday that honors the brave men and women who fought for our country. Veterans are a rare breed of people that were willing to sacrifice everything for the good of the nation. While the holiday is an important one to say thank you to this

It is that time of year again, quite possibly everyone’s least favorite time of year (besides tax season). Daylight Savings Time ends on November 5th, meaning we all have to “fall back” and gain that extra precious hour of daylight (and of sleep!). With the irritation of waking up an hour earlier and being more tired than usual for a

Being a restaurant manager comes with many responsibilities, and one of the least enjoyable to perform is scheduling employees. So often restaurant managers are still using paper calendars or Excel sheets that have to be constantly tweaked and updated every time employees make any changes

Many people dream of owning their own business one day. To turn your dream into reality you’ll have to write a business plan. This is a lot less fun than daydreaming about your flourishing business, but it is a necessity.

One of the best ways to create buzz about your restaurant and draw people through your doors is with your menu. When you have delicious and creative dishes that patrons cannot find anywhere else, people will remember and spread the word. It is not easy to

In manufacturing, a more efficient business means a safer environment, increased productivity, and potentially larger profits. Here are six ways to increase efficiency at your manufacturing business -- and see lasting results.

Running a restaurant is not easy. Every year the challenges seem to increase from ways to get people in your door to how to train and retain your staff. Finding time to do the research to make the best decision for your business is difficult. Instead, leave it to the experts!

When it comes down to it, every restaurant business should be profit-driven… Your restaurant needs to turn a significant profit to thrive as a business, and at the same time, restaurant staff want to earn a good income to build or maintain a comfortable standard

Whether you are in the restaurant industry or not, you might dream of opening a restaurant. But before you open the establishment’s doors, there are many details you need to consider. Luckily, we’re in the business of helping guide restaurants and hospitality

If you’ve read ourprevious posts The Ultimate Guide Part 1, you probably know that sales is the one thing that fixes everything. Part 2 of this guide focuses on how to grow your sales and the strategies behind selling that are easy to master.

If you’ve read our previous posts from ShiftNote, you probably know that we are the go-to for all things restaurant management. Whether it’s maintaining an efficient staff, recruiting the right team, implementing an effective system for managing shifts, innovating

The restaurant industry has experienced many dish and flavor trends throughout the decades. Some stick and some don’t, but staying ahead of the trends and betting on what will work can make your restaurant a leader in the market. One popular trend is the

In the front lines of a restaurant, your #1 focus is your customer and creating a memorable dining experience for them at your establishment. You have the ability to create deeper, even more memorable experiences if you understand who your customer is as a person, and how they are best communicated to. Mastering this "Art Of Hospitality" will ultimately get them to buy more from you

It’s always a good time to freshen your promotional strategy, especially as only 50% of restaurant and hospitality businesses survive within the first five years. While it’s certainly possible to overcome this scary statistic, owning and operating a business does

Mother’s Day was first celebrated in America in 1908, and it was commercialized soon after with cards, gifts and taking Mom out to eat. Though the spirit of this holiday is to honor our Mothers and Grandmothers alike for their selfless sacrifices and unconditional

Training is one of the most important things you can do as a restaurant manager to make your team more successful, therefore seeing more sales. Many managers have their initial training programs and only hold team meetings sporadically to continue

Many hospitality workers dream of owning their own business one day. Or maybe you already do, but you want to try out something different on the side. You might have been in a kitchen for years following someone else’s direction, or maybe you want to

It should come as no surprise that labor is an integral part of hospitality. After all, the only thing keeping a prospective customer from ordering online from any number of competitors is the hospitality your employees can convey. Which makes it all the

Of the many holidays throughout the year where food and drink are part of the traditions, St. Patrick's Day provides a great opportunity for people to go out and celebrate with green everything - from clothes to beer to food. As St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year, there is no

Restaurants and bars are mainstays for having a good time, especially during holidays like St. Patrick's Day. You may know St. Patrick's Day is one of the biggest "Party Holidays" of the year, aside from New Year's Eve.

There are a few times throughout the year where people alter their eating habits to include certain foods. Summertime requires more picnic-like foods such as potato salad or hamburgers. For Thanksgiving, people are seeking more turkey and cranberry

Are you operating a nearly non-stop business? This is quite the undertaking -- demanding excellent leadership, foresight, and planning from management, as well as commitment, dedication, and flexibility

We’ve all watched the show “Restaurant Impossible”. In case you’ve missed it, the show is centered on celebrity chef Robert Irvine who helps restore failing American restaurants. He assess the problems within the targeted restaurant, then creates a plan to bring the

Your wait staff is an integral part of your restaurant’s success. This goes beyond managing tables and providing excellent customer service, although those two actions are vital to leaving a positive lasting impression on your patrons. Your wait staff also acts as your

There are many things you can do to help in improving sales performance for your restaurant. You can try the age old tactics of offering happy hour drinks and appetizers during slower times. You can invest in marketing or restaurant and menu redesign. You can

In food service, the mindset is that you spend hours of of training your employees year after year on customer service skills. This time of year is perfect to showcase your team’s excellent customer service skills. When you utilize your employee training to provide

What is the key to business success? Is it having a great product? Controlling your expenses? Profit and loss management? Scheduling the right people at the right time? While your products and/or services matter, the real key to success – in any industry –

Everyone wants to find the perfect place to celebrate New Years Eve. Since not everyone can fly to New York City to watch the ball drop in Times Square, you can offer an awesome way to kick off the New Year in your restaurant. To make sure you throw the biggest

For restaurants, the holidays are your best marketing opportunity. The focus during the holiday season for your restaurant is, of course, capturing sales. You may think this is cut and dry marketing, but your employees are the biggest part of growing your sales during the season. When you

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could have a crystal ball into your restaurant's future to see the sales that will come in? Think of all the planning you could accomplish - you would know how much staff to schedule, how much inventory to have in stock, and what you

It is officially the holiday season which means your restaurant is in full swing preparing for increased traffic and planning ways to beat out the competition. Everyone is searching for the perfect restaurant to host their work party, friend get-togethers, and out-

You have probably heard the saying “Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak.” This essentially means you should be selling the benefits of your product instead of the features, or selling people what they want as opposed to what they need. Anyway you say it, this phrase

Halloween is one of the most fun holidays throughout the year. People are looking for the best place to go where they can dress up, spend time with friends, and enjoy great drinks and eats. When you celebrate Halloween as a restaurant, you can take advantage of an

Losing focus on different parts of your establishment is easy when you are busy with managerial duties. It may seem easier to quickly fill out a schedule last minute and send it out to employees without doing much research on staffing needs or employee availability, but

Thanks to social media, we are seeing a huge rise in the quirkiest of holidays! From Pretzel Day to May the Fourth Be With You, everyone is ready to celebrate any holiday that pops up. You can pretty much call July the Food Month Holiday with all the tasty eats and treats that we

One of the most dreaded part of management is dealing with employee scheduling. Whether you have five employees or 50, trying to manage and organize everyone’s availability into a working schedule is a daunting and never ending task. Luckily, the process does not have to

One of the most difficult industries to work in is the restaurant world. From the precise timing of ingredient quantity purchases to keeping the customer experience strong with superior service, managing a restaurant requires a well-oiled machine approach. A fundamental way

Measuring the performance of your staff is one of the hardest parts of running a restaurant, but hard data can make it a lot easier. With the technology available today, you are missing out if you’re not gathering information from each transaction being made. Adopting technology,

St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone and the beer-filled holiday is unofficially known as the kickoff day for patio season for restaurants. There is no doubt your patio was up and running for the holiday, but you want to make sure you are prepared for the flow of people who want to

One of the hardest parts about operating a restaurant is controlling costs. A lot of things seem out of your control, especially as a new restaurant. For example, you have to buy enough stock of everything to meet demand, but not too much where the food becomes a waste of

Easter is a family-filled holiday that combines thoughtfulness on the holiday with fun activities like egg hunts and chocolate bunnies. This happy holiday can provide restaurants an increase in profits if you take advantage of some of the activities that happen during the holiday. Here

It’s that time of year again for college students and other 20 year olds to flock to the beach for a spring break getaway. While the vacation of partying and letting loose is a blast for your younger wait staff, dealing with a skeleton crew during the popular spring break period can quickly

Small business owners have a lot of challenges to overcome. In the recent years, healthcare changes have thrown many small businesses for a loop, causing them to set aside more cash flow to pay for the expense. Now minimum wage increases are the next big challenge that

Valentine's Day is this weekend, a holiday full of love and devotion. As a restaurant owner, the thing you love the most and can't live without are profits. There are many things about your restaurant that have the opportunity to make a big impression on customers to increase your

Great communication is the cornerstone of any successful business, especially for restaurants. With that many employees and shifts moving through the restaurant, communication often falls through the cracks. Yet shift-to-shift communication is an incredibly valuable key to success.

Many managers and owners despise the task of scheduling, but during the holiday season this hate-fire burns more brightly than any other time during the year. Holiday scheduling can absolutely be a stressful nightmare! As a leader, you want to balance the desire to make your employees happy by giving them time off for important events and the need for plenty of staff during this peak time. Here is

November, December and January are usually hectic months in the restaurant world. Without proper preparation for the increased traffic and inevitable scheduling conflicts that will occur, these next two months will be stressful. It is up to you to see if the mark the holidays leave on your restaurant is a negative or positive one. Here are three ways to prepare your restaurant for the holiday rush.

ShiftNote’s headquarters are located in the Kansas City metro, so you can imagine how insane the home office has been with the Royals winning the World Series! The Royals win is changing how baseball is played and a lot of that is due to the outstanding communication the team has.

There is no arguing that Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football. He confirmed his place in history this weekend, setting the record for the most scoring throws in a season at 51 against the Houston, Texans. His no huddle offense is extremely effective in leading his team to victory, as he's able to quickly call plays without having a discussion with his team

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well maybe for some, but for those that manage and work at restaurants, the holidays can be a very busy and stressful time. We came up with a list of tips and helpful suggestions that will help restaurant staff prepare ahead of time for the

Need some inspiration or new ideas? Or want to keep up with what's going on in the industry? These 7 restaurant industry experts are thought leaders and power Twitter users, and thus worthy of a follow. Whether you're a restaurant owner, looking to open a restaurant, or just want to know what's going on in the industry, these guys and gals have it going on.

Social media can be an easy and inexpensive way to bring new customers to your restaurant. One social media outlet that is extremely effective for restaurants is Instagram, a photo sharing app for your mobile phone. Instagram is even more effective when it is tied to your Facebook

The Affordable Care Act includes a plethora of new regulations, employer requirements, and potential penalties for employers that have group health plans. Almost from the moment it passed, many pundits suggested that frustrated employers should simply eliminate their group health plan and pay the penalty which they predicted would be cheaper than the cost of their current health plan. As we

As we have already learned, large employers under PPACA may be subject to a new “Pay or Play” penalty. These potential penalties only apply to employers with 50 or more Full-Time Equivalent employees. While part-time employees will count against employers when determining whether they are subject to these penalties part-time employees do not count when

Healthcare Reform includes several provisions that apply to all groups, regardless of their size. One of the most important provisions for the food service industry is the new non-discrimination rules. Included in the PPACA requirements was the expansion of existing non-discrimination rules to small, fully-insured groups. These rules will have limited impact in some industries, but will have a significant

PPACA has been a very perplexing challenge for employers and their consultants since its passage in 2008. Simply by its size it created confusion and frustration for those who tried to grasp its many complex provisions and requirements. Since it dealt with nearly all aspects of our healthcare system, the interaction of each section and ultimately how employers, employees, carriers and healthcare

In the previous articles we explained that the size of your workforce will be a key determinant in how troublesome your compliance will be under PPACA. If you have over 50 full-time equivalent employees you will be subject to potential Pay or Play penalties which could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. While this sounds scary, one of the unique aspects of PPACA provides an

As a public relations professional, agency life affords a wide variety of experiences. During my years in the field, I've had the opportunity to work with clients from high-profile restaurants, to award-winning breweries and nationally-recognized pizzerias. Though the services vary and are customized based on each clients’ needs, one thing remains constant: hiring the right public relations agency to

Now that the chaos of court challenges and the election have subsided it’s time to get down to the task of living with PPACA. Some industries will have little problem with complying with the new healthcare reform rules, while other businesses (like restaurants) will see a quantum shift in how they run their operation. Those that adapt the quickest will be the winners.

I have been asked by ShiftNote to write a periodic blog series regarding healthcare reform. At first I was skeptical, while I had been working on healthcare reform issues and their impact on my clients I didn't know if this format would work for such a complex subject matter. I have been a health benefit consultant for over 30 years and have been focused on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care

ShiftNote is a useful online log book that many of you sign into each day to log notes and communicate with team members. So we thought it might be nice to point out some tips and ideas that you might not be aware of to help you better manage your workforce and save time and

ShiftNote is an amazing communication tool for workforce management that will help save you time and money. You know it, we know it - but what about your team? A tool like ShiftNote will work best if your entire team is on board, as the saying goes, there's no I in team. So how do

Saving money is at the top of everyone's to-do list! When you're running a business, it's especially important to run as efficiently as possible and save costs wherever you can to maximize profits. It can be difficult to find ways to cut cost when you are trying to please customers and employees alike. To come up with the best money saving ideas for

There's no denying that the boom of the smartphone age is changing the way we live and do business. More than 80% of smartphone owners are using their phones to access the web, yet only 4.8% of retailers have a mobile based specific website. 80% of people will search for a

Whether you're a part of a restaurant or retail store, your staff is the face of your business. Staff that is happy, knowledgeable about your products, and eager to please the customers, will ultimately result in increased sales and customer satisfaction. A great way to get your staff